By Allan Fox: Unbeaten light heavyweight contender Artur Beterbiev (11-0, 11 KOs) is in the process of leaving his promoter Yvon Michel. Beterbiev, 32, is expected to fight in an IBF 175-pound title eliminator in the near future to earn a mandatory spot against IBF light heavyweight champion Andre “SOG” Ward.
Beterbiev is supposed to be fighting Enrico Koelling in an IBF light heavyweight title eliminator next. There isn’t an official date for that fight. It’s now unclear whether Beterbiev will be fighting Koelling next or not. July 29 is the date that was being talked about for the Beterbiev vs. Koelling fight. It was a fight that Beterbiev would have had an excellent chance of winning in an impressive manner.
All that is now on hold, as Beterbiev looks to leave his promoter. Hopefully for Beterbiev’s sake he doesn’t wind up inactive for months or years as he attempts to sever ties with his promoter Michel. Beterbiev hasn’t given a reason why he wants to leave Michel. Beterbiev was supposed to fight Sullivan Barrera in an IBF 175-pound eliminator fight in April, but Barrera chose to pull out of the fight due to him not be happy with the purse.
It’s a shame because Beterbiev would be in line to fight the winner of the Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev fight if he had beaten Barrera by now. It’s not a given that Beterbiev would get that fight immediately, but at least he would be in position to eventually fight for the IBF title once the Ward-Kovalev II winner decided to defend the IBF belt.
Beterbiev is a real knockout artist with huge power in either hand. He would be a real problem for the likes of Ward or Sergey Kovalev. However, Beterbiev can’t spent too much time waiting for a world title shot because he’s getting up there in age at 32 after spending a lot of time in the amateur system in his native Russia. Beterbiev twice fought in the Olympics for Russia in the past.
“My dear friends, fans and supporters, as many of you have already heard, my lawyer has filed [Tuesday] morning a demand for Declaratory Judgment asking the Superior Court in Montreal to confirm that my promotional agreement with Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) is effectively terminated/expired,” said Beterbiev on his social media site. “I have nothing personal against Yvon Michel and everything is fine on my end. I keep training hard to get back in the ring and become World Champion ASAP. That has always been, and will always be, my sole focus and goal in my professional [career]. Thanks for your support!”
Beterbiev had a shoulder problem that kept him out of the ring for 1 year from 2015 to 2016. Beterbiev recently returned to the ring last December in besting Isidro Ranoni Prieto by a 1st round knockout on Deember 23. Beterbiev fought just 2 times in 2015 and twice in 2016. Beterbiev has been inactive since his win over Prieto, and almost half of 2017 is now done and he still hasn’t fought anybody.
There’s a wide belief among boxing fans that a lot of the top contenders don’t want to fight Beterbiev because he’s so dangerous. He’s knocking everyone out and looking hard to beat right now. Whether a different promoter could do a better job of finding opponents for Beterbiev is the big question.
Beterbiev needs to be more active if he wants to become a star like middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, who in just 5 short years has picked up a large fan base in the U.S by fighting 3 to 4 times a year and knocking most of his opponents out. If Beterbiev could do the same thing in the next 4 years, he could be a star in the States by the time he’s 36. But if Beterbiev is tied down with promotional problems and not fighting, then his chances of career success are greatly diminished.
Beterbiev has been a pro for the last 4 years since launching his career in 2013. He’s been with Michel from the start of his career.
“Beterbiev is considering his contract is terminated with GYM and he is asking a Quebec judge to confirm,” said Michel to ESPN.com it. ”We believe otherwise and we have arguments to back it up. It may take several weeks before having a judgment. Meantime we are still Beterbiev’s promoter and we have made a deal with [Team] Sauerland representative Chris Meyer for the services of Enrico Koelling for the IBF title eliminator [to be] the mandatory contender to Andre Ward.”
If Beterbiev remains with Michel, then he very likely will be fighting Koelling (23-1, 6 KOs) in July as previously planned. The boxing fans want to see Beterbiev back in action, as he’s got a lot of people that follow his fights.
Beterbiev would match up well with Ward or Kovalev. Beterbiev reportedly beat Kovalev in the amateur ranks in the past. What makes Beterbiev a tough option for Ward is his accurate punching, huge power, and excellent inside fighting ability. Beterbiev is an arguably better inside fighter than Ward, and he would be a very dangerous option for him if that fight were to take place.
I don’t know if it ever will though, as Ward seems to be focused on looking for the big fights at this stage in his career. As popular as Beterbiev is with the hardcore boxing fans, he’s still an unknown with the casual fans. He doesn’t have the fan base yet to make a fight between him and Ward a huge one. Being out of the ring for 1 year with a shoulder injury didn’t help Beterbiev’s progress in becoming a big name with casual boxing fans.
A fight between Beterbiev and WBC champion Adonis Stevenson would be an interesting one as well. Unfortunately for Beterbiev, it might take many years of waiting before he’d ever get a chance to fight Stevenson, as there’s already a line of fighters waiting for a title shot against him. When Stevenson isn’t fighting his mandatories, he takes voluntary defenses one after another and he doesn’t opt for risky opponents. You can argue that Beterbiev might be an old man before he’d finally get a title shot against Stevenson.
